Michigan man crashes car into a ditch, blames it on spider

(CBS NEWS) The reason why this driver veered off a roadway and into a ditch left some police officers scratching their heads. But to arachnophobes, it makes total sense.

The 26-year-old man from Grawn, Michigan, told emergency personnel who responded to the single vehicle accident Sunday morning that an inspect caused the crash -- a spider, to be precise.

"The driver stated he was northbound on South Good Harbor Trail when he was distracted by a spider on the visor above his head," the Leelanau County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "The vehicle veered off the east side of the roadway, traveling down into the ditch through heavy brush before coming to rest against some trees."

His excuse was so bizarre, the sheriff's department posted about it on Facebook, along with a photo of the sideways 2005 GMC Envoy, sparking a huge debate between internet users.

Was it a valid excuse?

Some sympathized with the driver, sharing jokes to lighten the mood.

"And the spider remains at large?" one Facebook user asked.

"Hold the spider for questioning!" another commented.

"Any spider is BIG," one woman declared. "This would be me for sure."

Others, however, were less forgiving.

"Sorry, no tolerance for this. When you transport passengers you are charged with their safe arrival at the destination," one user wrote. "Decisions made to deviate your attention to a spider and forgo your 1st responsibility parallels a decision to text or drink and drive. Thankful you got lucky and didn't kill anybody."

The driver was uninjured but his 29-year-old female passenger sustained an injury to her wrist, the sheriff's department reported. She was treated at the scene by Cedar Area Fire personnel.